in summary...

i'm looking at the date of my last post and the lapse of time does not connect. because it seems like that was practically yesterday.
and, it's not exactly surprising that it's been as long as it has since i'm one of the worst bloggers around {in case you are wondering, this honorary status applies to more than just blogging...let's talk facebook, email, etc.}.
so here i am, a week out from thanksgiving. and, here's what i've been up to...

i spent last week getting my butt kicked fighting a cold. not fun. especially, not when you're in charge of two little kids and can't hug and kiss them like crazy because you're so darn nervous about getting them sick too. my daughter is phasing out her naps, but i made her take them every day last week and basically passed out to try to recoup before the afternoon and evening stretch. it would be nice if i could get a flu shot, but those are annoyingly scarce. i'm sure by the time i can get one, it'll pretty much be pointless to do so.

said cold killed my ability to do my faithful morning treadmill runs. well. more like massively put a crimp in my ability to pull off a 4-mile run with relative ease. i've spent this week pitifully trying to work back to where i was, but it has proven difficult. i'm hoping that this week will be better.

i'm always on pie-duty for the family turkey-bird dinner. i planned the pies...now i have to make them. it'll involve some daily prep to make it less of a project. one of my friends asked me to help her bake up one of my pumpkin streusel pies for her family, so we need to figure out when that's going to happen next week. on the roster, though, for next thursday: caramel apple pie with crumb topping, streusel pumpkin pie, toffee pecan pie. all homemade with homemade crust. yum.

i was able to finish another scrapbook page earlier this week. it felt fabulous to get it done. now on to the next one. since i have a hard time blocking off time to be able to just sit and push around papers and be creative, i do it in stages...mostly when i'm making trips to the basement to put things away or clean...or work out. i'll walk by my desk, rearrange and pull out things...it some how slowly comes together. i'd like more time to actually sit and work on these things. i'm getting ready to order some more pictures - a whole other project in itself whenever i do it. because i don't just order pictures to scrap with...i order updated pictures for the frames and collages around the house, for my husband's office, for family members...considerable thought and time go into this purchasing process.

work has been good. getting ready to head into the holiday season...which is where the insanity of people in the world of retail-shopping is magnified ten-fold. i now get to wear a walkie-talkie while i'm on the sales floor. interesting. even more interesting trying to get the ear bud to stay in my ear and a challenge even more so to try to move my head as i normally would...but i know i end up looking like i have some sort of crazy-neck problem. i'm silently hoping i don't get too many grinches this year, but they are always out there and you just kind of have to grin-and-bear-it {while silently cursing to yourself and vowing to reward your good efforts with a nightcap later on}.

miss playing around with photography practice. want to get back into it, but getting side-tracked by a lot of things in general. hopefully we'll be planting shubbery tomorrow after we completely tore out all the landscaping around our house over the summer. {i vaguely remember when weekends didn't involve housework and waking up before 7 a.m. this is a very distant memory, lol}.

also just started my next bookclub book, To Kill A Mockingbird. love this book. loved it in high school. couldn't believe some of the ladies in bookclub never read it. so, i had to put it on the "to read" list and here we finally are. within the first few pages, i was reminded why i love this book. i'm having the girls compile a list of books they would like to read - we're getting ready to pick out a few months worth of books {a task we immensely enjoy}.

and, can i just say again...wow...a week out from thanksgiving. i've been bad lately with this inability to keep track of my days...and this kind of proves it. i'm even more shocked that next month is december. christmas. the shopping and preparation that still needs to be done. and shortly after that my son turns 2 and birthday festivities to plan. a new year. new resolutions. {i find that being able to keep my sanity relatively in tact to be a good, solid aspiration for the upcoming new year, but i digress...}.

so, no wonder it feels like only days since i've last updated the old blog...